Home Insurance Discussion

panchis

We managed to make some adjustments to my buildings insurance premium and now I'll pay £266 from £326... the sum insured was higher than the requiered by the landlord.

Because the previous premiums have been mis-calculated, can claim back the overpayments made for the past 3 years on this policy?

linky

T99 wrote: »

A curious tale!

Just received my renaewal quotation from Chuchill for Buildings and Contents cover @ £433. Last year I was a 'new' customer and obtained the cover for £303 (via internet). However last year I switched to Churchill beacuse Direct Line, my previous insurer, quoted me £466 to renew as against £317 when I was a 'new' customer the previous year.

Now guess what - today's cheapest quote from an hours work is Direct Line at £280 as a 'new' customer.

Curious or what?

It makes it even more curious as Direct Line and Churchill are the same company!!, I know as I work in the claims dept and deal with both brands!!!

Sazzyukrafc

Sorry for seeming really stupid...! But, due to be sorting out our house insurance this week and was wondering how much to expect to pay a month? Is it a few quid, hundreds etc...?!

something_girl

steww wrote: »

recived my renewal quote from direct line this morning for buildings and contents cost £449.30 workd my way through martins system and a quote for £143.85 with churchill was looking preety good so i rang direct line to cancell and ask why they were so high suprise i got transferred to a customer care rep who when i explained what i was going to do informed me she could price match churchill in fact she beat them by anothe £2
So £141.85 a saving of over £300 in less than an hour unbeliveable.:beer:

I called Bradford & Bingley today to cancel my policy at renewal, as I had got a cheaper quote, a very nice lady easily matched it.. to be honest, that's the first time that an insurance company has automatically tried to keep my business, they usually just ask why I want to cancel and accept it's because I got a cheaper quote....

oh and I must just mention that the lady from B&B said, if she increased the buildings rebuild cost up to £200,000 it opens up the choice of many more insurers as some just don't quote on a valuation of less than that.... so mine was increased from £160,000 to £200,000 and the premium went down!

sarahc5388

savvieboyblue wrote: »

The attached is from The Observer and makes the point that there are vast differences in the service quality offered by different insurance companies under their home insurance. In the interests of fairness I should point out that I work for LTSB who are mentioned in the article. Please, please, please don't just buy your home insurance on price or you may regret it one day. Look at price, policy coverage and service delivery track record.

Flood victims face a new problem: their insurers

Delays, rows, cowboy builders ... complaints about restoration work are growing, says Lisa Bachelor

Close
This article appeared in the Observer on Sunday December 09 2007 on p15 of the Cash section. It was last updated at 10:07 on December 10 2007.


The way insurance companies have dealt with their customers in the aftermath of the summer floods is 'nothing short of disgusting', according to a leading expert in the field.
Paul Hendy, who is working directly with families on insurance issues for Hull City Council, believes that some of the country's biggest insurers have been the worst offenders when it comes to carrying out work on flood-hit houses.
'There is no consistency between insurance companies; the best ones do a thorough job while the worst ones skimp on everything,' says Hendy, who spent the previous two years in Carlisle dealing with insurance issues after the 2005 floods there. Last year he won an award for his services to flood victims.
Hull was flooded in June this year, and more than 8,000 householders were forced to evacuate their properties. Six months on, thousands of people are still out of their homes. Some have still not been given the essential drying certificate needed before building work can even begin. In other cases there are reports of insurance companies delaying essential payments to householders, builders walking off jobs because they have been offered better money by another insurer, and loss adjusters failing to keep appointments.
Families are also struggling with increased debt problems as delayed payments from insurance companies means that some flood victims are having to find a way of keeping up mortgage payments as well as rent on their temporary accommodation.
Lloyds TSB was singled out by Hendy as the only insurance company in the country to have done a good job. Lloyds is unique in that it has its own dedicated damage restoration firm, Rameses. 'Some Lloyds TSB customers are already back at home because Rameses have done the job. Other insurers we are having to fight every inch of the way to get things replaced,' says Hendy.
A survey of 300 homes made six months after the floods in Carlisle discovered a catalogue of disasters left by builders commissioned by insurance companies there. The Observer has been given a six-page document containing responses from the flood victims, which formed part of the Carlisle report.
'Argued and argued (through loss adjusters) with insurance company,' says one. 'Loss adjuster tried to reduce the claim although all goods only 20 months old. Builder had poor quality work, cheapest products and a couldn't care less attitude.'
Another one said: 'Loads of phone calls to insurance company, slow, no communication. It just took too long.'
Others complained of being sent in circles by their insurers, being left without payments to cover rented accommodation and builders who were 'more like a demolition squad'. Similar stories are now emerging from Hull, says Hendy.
Moreover, some people are refusing to claim on their insurance because they don't want their house to be branded as a 'flood property' in the future. Instead, they are doing the work themselves. 'Neighbours are falling out over this because if one person doesn't dry their property properly, the next-door one stays damp,' says Hendy.
A report by the Association of British Insurers last week called on the government to develop a 25-year strategy to manage Britain's growing flood risks.
'Insurers want to continue to provide flood insurance. The right decisions from the government will ensure that flood insurance remains widely available and affordable in the UK,' says Stephen Haddrill, director general of the ABI.
A particular problem in Hull has been the number of people without a household policy. In Carlisle, 75 out of the 2,000 people affected were without insurance. In Hull, the figure is one in four households. Many of these are tenants who are reliant on private landlords and the council to repair their homes.
What you can claim
There are more than 2 million homes at risk from coastal or inland flooding - 10 per cent of total houses in the UK - and about 400,000 at very high risk, according to the Association of British Insurers. Depending on the degree of damage, you could be back in your home a few weeks after the flood, or it may take over a year before it is habitable.
This is what your insurance should cover if you are flooded:
Buildings and contents
You are entitled to claim compensation for damage to your belongings and for any structural damage to the building. Repairs are carried out on a like-for-like basis, so your fittings and fixtures should be the same quality as those you lost. Insurers are not obliged to put flood-proofing measures in place when they repair your property, only to return it to its former state.
Gardens
Contents insurance often covers damage to items in your garden up to a limit. However, garden contents are usually only covered for theft and vandalism rather than flood damage. Check with your insurer whether you are protected. Similarly, damage to your garden wall or shed might be covered by your buildings insurance, but the exclusion for floods may apply.
Alternative accomodation
Typically your insurer will cover costs of up to 20-25 per cent of the insured value of your home (which is not the same as the market value) if you need to move out after a flood. Some insurers cover up to a specific sum, typically £20,000 to £25,000, for alternative accommodation.
Vehicles
If you have comprehensive insurance, you will be covered for repairs - minus any excess - or the cost of a replacement vehicle if your car is a write-off. However, if you have third party or third party fire and theft cover only, you won't be able to claim. You may not be able to claim if you were driving through a flood at the time of the damage.

My dad has just had a renewal letter from LTSB for wait for it £487.41 - it states unlimited contents cover - what's that about? Why did the saleaman tell him he needed unlimited cover (i have a feeling it was so they could charge him £369.63 a year! they have also added Extended Contents at £117.78 - what the ****, can anyone shed any light on this, surely he doesn't need this - 3 bed mid terrace built in 1978, advice appreciated, been on here all quaotes about £150 - £170 for £50000 contents plus other benefits - surely thats all he needs - take out a new one or phone up and haggle?

Mee

My father passed away a few months ago and never insured the house. It will probably be vacant for about 6 months. Please can anyone advise about trying to insure such a property and if we don't would this deter buyers? Its a terraced victorian 3 storey house.

angela110660

brownfrog wrote: »

As luck would have it, before I saw this, I'd bought from LTSB, purely because their policy seemed good value for the money compared with the others I had on my shortlist. What really swung is was the £120 Quidco cashback - even without this, it was a good deal; with this (assuming it goes through, fingers crossed), it'll be an excellent one.
Update: I've just checked my Quidco account, and the £120 has been validated.

I did this last year with Direct Line and we got our payment £100 ish- our premium last year with them was £234.15. Just got renewal through - £386.40 which is a 65% increase in premium. We have made no claims at all. Hubby rang them to ask why - got told that we got a good discount last year etc. being a new insurer; this year they are recouping it - oh no they are not. Compare.com here we come !

sarahc5388

savvieboyblue wrote: »

I'm sorry your dad's not happy with his home insurance renewal quote but his premium isn't based on some whacky sum insured. Home insurance policies that have unlimited or very high maximum levels of cover actually calculate the premium based on the average value of contents in a house with the same number of bedrooms as your dad's ( typically the contents of a 3 bed property will be worth £18 - 22 k ) and the postcode he lives in. They then have a maximum cover that is unlimited, or sometimes £50 - 75 k , so the customer knows that they don't need to worry about adding up the replacement value of all their contents or being underinsured.

It sounds like your dad may also have accidental damage cover ( for contents inside the home ) and personal possessions cover ( for valuables taken outside the home ) in his current policy. If you haven't got that in your comparison quotes then if he calls LTSB ( 0800 0928762 ) they can tell him what the quote will be without this as these additional covers are claimed on a lot and so can be a fair chunk of the total premium, and the policy he has is usually quite price competitive on a like for like basis. The LTSB Home Solutions product is rated as a 5 star product by the independent product rating agency Defaqto ( www. Defaqto.com has the comparisons for all the products they have rated) which means they think it's one of the top 10% in the market.

One final thought, on Monday of this week LTSB launched a new over 50s product through it's direct operation. This is the first product in the market which offers up to 50% no claims discount if you haven't claimed for up to 10 years and it has a lot more opportunities to opt / out of aspects of cover to help keep the premium down. Your dad might want to try this on 08000224893.

Of course it could just be that LTSB won't be the lowest priced for your dad as no insurer can be cheapest for everyone. But if you do go to a new insurer for him please please spend some time checking out the quality of service they offer as there are some lousy companies our there when it comes to helping people and older folks often need a lot of help if there home is damaged by storms or floods. You could use one of the review sites like www.ciao.co.uk to get the experiences of other customers. All insurance is not the same.

Hope this helps.

I phoned them on fri - and demanded to know why they had changed his contents cover from £50,000 to unlimited - I was told that because of all the floods they had to change all the policies!!! anyway i challenged everything he had to say and in the end he 'spoke to his manager' and reduced the policy by £220 - for the exact same cover! and yes he did have:accidental damage - new for old-away from home and everything - no offence but it just goes to show how banks rip people off!

caleo

Hmmmm, have just had my DirectLine insurance remnewal through. I was ill last year so did not hunt round for a better quote, so this is the 3rd year I would be with them. £442,05, or £486.26 by installments!!!!!). They have even kindly given me 10% discount on both buildings and contents, representing "12 months claim free", which is included in this quote.

As I have not had a claim with them, nor any insurer for 5 years, they seem to think this is a good discount!

I have just been on the Direct line website, and the quote i got for exactly the same cover, as a new customer was £196.35.

Now, i know that discounts etc are given to new customers, but £245.70 extra to existing customers is surely daylight robbery!

Caleo

JAMFARM

Hi,
I have recently changed my mortgage provider and as a consequence also changed my buildings insurance to a different provider.
Due to an oversight on my part I did not cancel the standing order to the old policy until two months into the term of the new one.
As I understand it is illegal to have two policies running at the same time,which policy would legally be covering the house for this two month overlap,the old or the new policy.

Thanks.